


Makoto Naegi's Happy Little Life

by SoulfulGingerBrian



Category: Dangan Ronpa, Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010), ジョジョの奇妙な冒険 | JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken | JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
Genre: AU (duh), Adventure, Crossover, DR Characters w/Stands, F/M, Friendship, Gen, God - Freeform, Multi, OOC-ish, Other, Rating May Change, Romance, Slow To Update, What Was I Thinking?, but give it a chance - Freeform, help me, weird concept
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-17
Updated: 2017-09-27
Packaged: 2018-09-09 06:01:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,302
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8878696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SoulfulGingerBrian/pseuds/SoulfulGingerBrian
Summary: Makoto Naegi is music store clerk/garage band guitarist whose average life is turned on its head when he crosses paths with the mysterious and alluring Kyoko Kirigiri. Things get even weirder as strange powers, bizarre people from Kyoko's past and complicated romances begin to sprout around town. 
Can Makoto get the girl and get his happy little life back on track? Probably not, but it never hurts to try.





	1. The Girl With Lavender Hair

**Author's Note:**

> Don't ask me how this became a thing that I wrote down. Trust me, I'm just as confused as you are. 
> 
> Enjoy the story!

The town of Morioh. Known as "The Town of Golden Hearts", it's a quiet and humble town filled with bright skies and friendly people with very little to disrupt it's peaceful life. That is, until one faithful day. This is the story of a boy, a girl and the bizarre adventures that resulted from their meeting one fateful summer...

* * *

The afternoon sun shone brightly over the Jabberwock Cafe. It's warm rays made Makoto Naegi sweat, even as he took another sip of his cool iced coffee. Makoto cursed the early-May heat internally, wondering if it would ever let up. He questioned why he and his friends are outdoors today.   
  
"Yo, Makoto," Leon Kuwata called, getting the brunet's attention. For a pair who'd been friends for so long, Leon and Makoto couldn't look any more different if they tried. Leon was tall verses Makoto's modest height; his hair was bright red and smoothly gelled up while Makoto's was a pale brown and spiky, pointing downwards; Leon's face had a few piercings and bore a full goatee while Makoto disliked the mere thought of piercings and had no facial hair to speak of, and likely never would; Leon was pale and blue-eyed while Makoto had a slightly darker complexion and hazel eyes. He wore a white tank top under a white jacket with blue jeans and black sneakers while Makoto wore his usual green hoodie, black jeans and white shoes. "You okay, buddy? You seem kinda out of it."   
  
"You haven't come down with something have you?" Kiyotaka Ishimaru asked, his large red eyes giving away his concern. Known to his friends as "Taka", he was around Leon's height and his short, spikey black hair was combed neatly. He was the youngest of the group, still in high school, albeit in his final year. He wore a white long-sleeved blazer that was unbuttoned, revealing a white tank top with matching pants and black boots. On his arm was a red band that symbolized his status as a member of his school's moral's committee. "They had to close school today because a couple of students got sick, and I'd hate for that to happen to you, too."  
  
"I'm fine, Taka," Makoto replied with a shake of his head. He unzipped his hoodie, revealing a short-sleeved shirt the same color as the coat and draped it over his shoulder. "It's just this stupid heat is all. God, it's so hot out today..."   
  
"Yeah, I hear ya, Koto," said the last member of the group, a girl with black and white-striped hair and navy and purple bangs with the top of her head done up to look like horns. Her normally vibrant pink eyes were currently drooped low and she was currently fanning her pierced face with her gloved hand. Her clothing consisted of a white short-sleeved shirt with a black skirt that reached mid-thigh and had a studded belt on it. She had on knee-high socks covered with holes, one of which was blue and the other pink along with white sneakers that had blue and pink laces  This was Ibuki Mioda, Makoto's co-worker over at the local music shop. "Ugh, Ibuki would do anything for some rain right now!"  
  
"Yeah, yeah, the heat sucks, whatever," Leon dismissed with a lazy wave of a hand. Not for the first time, Makoto wondered if there was anything Leon took seriously. Well, aside one thing...  
  
"Anyway," Leon continued, "as I was saying, the Battle of the Bands is next month. If we're to win this year, we've gotta buckle down and practice as often as possible."   
  
Ibuki scoffed. "Leon, we're as practiced as can be. We've already got what it takes, there's no way we can lose this time."   
  
The group's band, "The Stardust Crusaders" was Leon's pet project. A garage band formed in Makoto's bedroom back during junior high, it initially consisted of just him and Leon, with Ibuki and Taka coming in later on. Despite its odd origins, Leon was fully convinced that the Crusaders had what it took to make it big. Makoto wasn't as optimistic, but didn't want to hurt Leon's feelings, so he kept silent on the matter.   
  
"I don't know, Ibuki," Taka interjected. "For once, I think Leon's onto something."  
  
"Yeah- Hey! Fuck you, too, man!" Leon yelled, causing some customers to jump.   
  
"Language, Leon! We're in public!" Taka replied, just as loud. Ibuki and Makoto sighed. "Anyway," the high schooler continued, "we can't afford to grow complacent, Ibuki. Not with the concert coming up so soon. Because I distinctly remember doing just that last year, and look where that ended for us."   
  
"Yeah..." Makoto thought as an old, painful memory came back to him. Taka seemed to have noticed as he quickly adopted an apologetic expression.   
  
"Oh, Makoto, I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to..."  
  
"Don't worry about it," the smaller youth replied. "I'm over it, really." Whether it was Taka or himself he was trying to convince, Makoto could not say.   
  
Just then, a voice called out, grabbing the quartet's attention. "Hey, Crusaderps!" The woman said. Makoto turned around to see a pink-haired woman wearing a waitress uniform, the name "Ruruka" written neatly on her nametag.   
  
"Ando..." Leon muttered, annoyed at the waitress' intrusion. Makoto couldn't exactly blame his best friend's hostility as he remembered quite clearly how Ruruka Ando treated them in high school. Still, Makoto saw no reason to be rude and merely asked what she wanted.   
  
"Look, I'll level with you guys," Ruruka said, twirling a well-groomed lock of hair. "My boyfriend's birthday party is this weekend and-"  
  
"Aww, happy birthday!" Ibuki cheered.   
  
"Yeah, thanks," grunted Ruruka, who always hated to be interrupted. ""As I was saying, Sonosuke's cousin was supposed to do the music for the party, but he had to cancel. Said something about a baby or some shit. Anyway, now we're down a musician and since you're the only band that lives nearby, well..."  
  
"Oh, doth mine own ears decieve me?" Leon teased, a grin growing on his face. "Is Ruruka Ando asking us mere peasants for help?"   
  
Ruruka's face flushed and she gave a pointed glare. "Look, will you do it or not!?" She asked, her patience having reached its limit.  
  
"Crusaders, huddle!" Leon declared as the four proceeded to do just that.   
  
"So, do we do it?" Asked Taka. "I mean, I don't care either way, I'll just do what you guys want."   
  
"Well, it's not like it's her party," Ibuki said. "Besides, Sonosuke's cool. I say we do it."   
  
"Ibuki, this is Ando we're talking about," Leon retorted, as if that explained everything. "Don't you remember all the stuff she pulled? All the mean names, the setting us up on fake dates, the having sex in Taka's van, the-"  
  
"You know, Kuwata, I'm standing right behind you," said the irritated woman who was standing right behind Leon. "I can hear everything you're saying just fine."   
  
Leon gave a rude gesture in response and faced his friends once more. "I think I've made my point," he said, crossing his arms.  
  
"So that's one for, one against and Taka doesn't care," Ibuki counted. "Looks like Makoto's the tiebreaker."  
  
" _As usual_ ," Makoto internally snarked. After weighting the options for a few seconds, Makoto turned to Leon. "Look, man, I get where you're coming from and all," he said to his frowning friend, "but you're the one who just said we need to practice more, and a gig like this sounds like a good enough excuse. Besides, it's not like we have anything better to do."  
  
"I'm kind of behind on my studies," Taka interrupted.   
  
"Anything important," Ibuki replied, causing Taka to glare.   
  
Leon looked Makoto in the eye, trying to convince the brunet to surrender, but Makoto shook his head. Leon sighed and then turned to Ruruka. "Alright, we'll take the gig. But first, what're you paying us?"   
  
"A hundred, just because I like you guys so much," Ruruka said with a smirk, obviously happy to have gotten her way.   
  
Leon scoffed. "Gonna have to try a little bit harder than that. Two hundred."  
  
Her smirk vanished. "You losers wish you were that good. Hundred twenty."   
  
"Better than the guy you hired before. Hundred seventy-five."   
  
The two glared for a moment before coming to an agreement.   
  
"Hundred fifty!" They shouted at the same time.   
  
"You happy with that?" Leon asked, ignoring Taka's plea to keep his voice down.   
  
"No," replied the pinkette. "You?"   
  
"No." The two then shook hands.  
  
"Party's Saturday night at eight," Ruruka explained. "Be at Sonosuke's place over on Kodaka Street at around six so you can set up." And at that, she walked away.   
  
"This is gonna suck," the redhead muttered as he took a bite of his sandwich. He glared at Makoto. "If this goes south, I'm blaming you." Makoto rolled his eyes in response. 

* * *

Not too long after, the Crusaders left the cafe, heading their separate ways for the time being. Ibuki and Makoto walked back to work, discussing Sonosuke's party. After a few minutes, they arrived at M78 Records, the neighborhood music store. Despite its small size, it had been a popular hangout spot since when their parents were kids and still enjoyed a steady amount of business. 

"Ah, there you two are," said their boss, a tall man with blonde hair wearing a messy suit and fedora. This was Koichi Kizakura, the owner of M78 for the last decade or so. "You know, I could've sworn I said you had half an hour. It's been almost an hour. Don't you know it's irresponsible to leave your poor boss all alone to handle the place?"   
  
"Heh, sorry, boss," Ibuki said, rubbing the back of her head. "I guess we lost track of time... again."   
  
"Ah, whatever," Koichi waved. "It's a slow day, so I'll let it slide this time."   
  
A few minutes later, Makoto was lazily flipping through a magazine when he came across a familiar sight. It was a picture of a blue-haired girl around his age with a bow in her long, silky locks. She wore a bright pink dress that flattered her body well along with white boots. Most noticeable to the young man however, was her smile. Bright and wide, it looked like the kind of smile that could inspire anyone to do anything. Despite his better judgement, Makoto allowed himself to remember a time when that smile had that very affect on him.   
  
His train of thought was interrupted when the door to the shop opened, the bell next to it ringing and causing Makoto to look up. What he saw surprised him.  
  
She was a woman, around his age, maybe a little taller than him. She had long hair, reaching down to her thighs and colored lavender with a single braid on her right side. Her pale face held a neutral expression as well as a pair of purple eyes. She wore a purple coat over a white dress shirt and orange tie with a black skirt and black knee-high boots. Most curiously, she wore a pair of studded gloves over hands. Makoto then realized he was staring at her like some kind of creep and turned away, finding a random assortment of records rather interesting.   
  
The woman handed Koichi a brown paper bag. "That's the second time this week," she said, her voice showing no hint of emotion. "Try not to make this a habit."   
  
"Heh heh, sorry about that," the older man chuckled. "But you know what they say, first thing to go when you get old is your memory. Or is it sight, I can never remember it right..."  
  
The mystery woman said nothing and then turned around to leave. "I have to get back to class. See you at home." And then, just as quickly as she entered, the lavender-haired girl left the shop.   
  
"Hey, Koichi, who was that?" Ibuki asked after Mystery Girl left.   
  
"She's my niece," Koichi replied with a grin. "Well, not really my niece, but her dad and I were friends back in the day." For a brief moment, the usually light-hearted manager looked melancholy before shaking out of it.   
  
"Oh, really?" Makoto asked, trying not to look too interested. Koichi chuckled.   
  
"You look a little curious, Makoto," he smirked. "Don't tell me you're thinking about asking her out." Ibuki giggled at Koichi's teasing while Makoto blushed.   
  
"What? No! I- Uh, hey is that a customer?" Makoto pointed at the door as someone came to the shop. 

"Oh, so it is," Koichi noted. "Hey there, how can we help you?" 

* * *

 

Eventually, six o'clock came around and M78 closed for the evening. Koichi went to his car, while Ibuki and Makoto took the bus home.  
  
"Man, it's been way you too long since our last gig, you know?" Ibuki asked, getting a nod from Makoto.   
  
"Yeah," he replied. "Hey, did you catch the news this morning? Another guy got hit. This one made it, though."   
  
"Oh, that poor person," Ibuki frowned. "Urgh, why does this keep happening!? If Ibuki ever finds whoever keeps doing it..." she trailed off from there, but Makoto understood he meaning.   
  
As of late, various people around Morioh had been shot by something strange and unidentifiable. While most had survived with zero problems afterward, some had died in the process. Thankfully, nobody Makoto knew had been hit, but he still worried that his luck would run out and that his friends, parents or sister would end up in the hospital from a mysterious wound.   
  
A few minutes later, Makoto reached his stop. He waved goodbye to Ibuki and exited the bus. Makoto crossed the street and arrived at his apartment complex. He checked his mailbox for anything and pulled out a couple of envelopes. He then took the elevator up to the fourth floor and crossed the hall to his apartment.   
  
Makoto opened the door and his nostrils were greeted by the overpowering scent of incense. Makoto coughed as he covered his face with his shirt.   
  
"Hiro!" He called out to his roommate as he set the mail on the kitchen table. When he didn't get a response, Makoto tried again. Suddenly, a door opened to reveal a person happily walking away while a man with brown dreadlocks counted bills off a stack of money. This was Yasuhiro Hagakure, known as "Hiro" to his friends.   
  
"Hey, Makoto," Hiro greeted, not taking his eyes off the money he earned. Hiro was a fortune teller by trade and apparently one of the best in the business, an "Ultimate" if you will. This was his justification for charging enough so he and Makoto could pay the rent and then some. Makoto disagreed with this, but it wasn't enough to sway his roommate.   
  
"What did you tell this one?" Makoto asked as he pulled out some leftovers and went to re-heat them.   
  
"That they would soon meet a person who would change their life forever," Hiro replied as he looked through the mail. "It might happen, y'know. 30% success rate and all."   
  
" _That's still a 70% chance for failure_ ," Makoto thought as he pulled his dinner out of the microwave. As he ate, Makoto's thoughts drifted towards the woman from earlier, Koichi's "niece". He wasn't sure why, he only saw her for a brief moment and didn't say a word to her at all. He didn't even know her name! And yet, there was something about this person that instinctively made him want to know every little thing about her.   
  
"Hey man, everything okay?" Hiro asked, causing Makoto to return to reality.   
  
"Oh, yeah," Makoto nodded. "I'm fine. It's just this gig coming up this weekend. You remember Izayoi from high school?" Makoto then started talking about the party and how the Crusaders were performing, which managed to get the mystery woman out of his head for a little while, thankfully.

* * *

Kyoko opened the door to her and Koichi's house, greeted by the smell of dinner. A small smile came to her face as she exhaled. After a long day of schoolwork, a meal was just what she needed.   
  
"Hey, you!" Called her uncle from the kitchen. "Dinner's almost ready!" Kyoko nodded and went to her room, dropping her bag on the ground and taking her boots off before joining Koichi downstairs.   
  
Dinner was a mostly silent affair, as it normally was. Not that Kyoko minded. Small talk was never really her strong suit to begin with, not even with Koichi, and she had known him since infancy. Instead, she used this time to think about how her day went, particularly after dropping off Koichi's lunch.   
  
The brown-haired boy- Makoto, according to his name tag- had stared at her for a good few seconds before looking away, believing he avoided detection. They never did. Normally, Kyoko would have said something, but she was in a hurry, so she left right after dropping off her uncle's lunch.   
  
The oddest thing was that for the rest of the afternoon, she couldn't ger her mind off this Makoto person. This confused Kyoko to no end. He was hardly the first person to ever gawk at her and it wasn't like he was particularly attractive or interesting- because he wasn't- though to be fair, she knew him for all of one minute. If there was one thing that Kyoko Kirigiri knew in her twenty-one years on the planet, it was that people were rarely what they seemed on the surface.   
  
Kyoko mentally shook herself. She was overthinking again, a habit she really had to break. She helped Koichi clean the dishes before retiring to her room with a cup of warm coffee in her hands. Kyoko set her drink aside to check her phone and saw that she had a message from Aoi Asahina, a.k.a. Hina, her best friend since moving to Morioh a few months ago.   
  
Hina: Guess what? My neighbor has a b-day party Saturday and I'm invited! Wanna be my +1?   
  
Kyoko shook her head and replied in the negative. Not even a minute later, Hina replied back.  
  
Hina: Aww, come on! Sakura already said no and I don't wanna go alone. ;_;  
  
Kyoko: So I'm really just your second choice? :/  
  
Hina: No! No! It's not like that, really!   
  
Hina: It's just that you only ever hang out with me and sometimes Sakura, and I like being friends with you and all, but- don't you ever get lonely?    
  
Kyoko sighed. She really didn't get lonely despite her limited number of friends and saw no point in going to a party for someone she didn't know, even if it was for Hina. Speak of the devil, she thought as Hina sent another message.   
  
Hina: Look, I know this isn't your kind of thing but I feel like you could use this. The semester's almost over and you've passed all your classes pretty much. Treat yourself, girl! And if the party's a bust, I swear I'll never make you go to another one again.  
  
Kyoko looked over the message for a brief moment before responding.   
  
Kyoko: Alright, I'll go. But only because you won't stop annoying me until I say yes.  
  
Hina: Yay! Can't wait! This is gonna be awesome!   
  
Kyoko let out a light chuckle at her friend's antics before taking a sip of her coffee. She still had her reservations about this, but she vowed to have a good time, if just for Hina's sake. Kyoko pulled her mouth away from the hotter-than-expected cup and placed a hand on the cup's bottom for a second. She then took another sip, the taste this time being much cooler. Content, she took out a textbook from her bag and began studying, seemingly forgetting that boy from earlier entirely. 

* * *

Before long, Saturday had arrived and Makoto was outside his complex when an old, white, beat-up looking van came up to the sidewalk, Taka in the driver's seat. Dubbed by Leon as "The Crapmobile", the van was a gift from Taka's cousin when the boy got his license and despite its shoddy appearance, it got him and the others from Points A to B.   
  
Makoto got in the van, greeting his friends and carefully avoiding the equipment. Once he was in, the Crusaders drove off.   
  
"So, Taka, what's the story you gave your old man?" Ibuki asked as they drove to Sonosuke's house. Taka's father, Takaaki Ishimaru, was a cop at the local police station and had never been a fan of his son's taste in friends or the idea of him playing music.   
  
"I'm at Makoto's because he wants a study partner," replied Taka, who wasn't thrilled about having to lie to his dad. But as he and the rest of the group knew, there was no way Officer Ishimaru could know the truth. "I told him I'd be staying the night. That's alright with you and Hagakure, right Makoto?" 

"Sure," Makoto nodded. "Hiro loves hanging out with you." He didn't have the heart to tell Taka that it was because Hiro thought the boy was an easy target to swindle. 

The Crusaders arrived at Sonosuke Izayoi's house not too long after and with help from Ruruka's friend Seiko, they were all set up within an hour. Several speakers and amps were set around the quartet and they were currently at their instruments, making sure everything was in order. Leon, the frontman, was doing a mic check while Taka was beating on his drums and Makoto and Ibuki, lead and bass guitar respectively, played a few brief solos and made sure the strings were attached right.  
  
"Check 1, 2! Izayoi's a tool!" Leon sang. "Check 1, 2! Ando has fake boobs!"   
  
"LEON!" Exclaimed his band-mates, who were exasperated at his antics. And judging from the looks Ruruka, Seiko and Sonosuke were giving, so were they.   
  
"Are you trying to get us kicked out?" Ibuki frowned.   
  
"He's doing a good job of it," the birthday boy glared while Seiko rubbed her friend's shoulders in an effort to calm her down.   
  
"Dude, knock it off," Makoto warned. Leon had been like this all week leading up to the party and it was getting on his last nerves. Leon was his best friend, had been for years, but there was only so much Makoto could take.   
  
"Alright, alright, I'll stop," Leon relented. After that,t here was no more problems. Around 7:30, people started pouring in the spacious backyard and the party was soon underway.   
  
"Hello, people of Morioh!" Leon greeted, his voice travelling throughout the yard. "It's your very own Stardust Crusaders, here to help our buddy Izayoi have an awesome birthday! And I'm not just saying that because we're getting paid!" And at that, the party was underway.  
  
A few hours passed and the party had so far been a blast. Sonosuke seemed to like all his gifts, even though most (including the Crusaders') were just gift cards, the cake- made by Ruruka herself- was delicious and the Crusaders were having the time of their lives performing for the first time in months, getting song request after song request.   
  
In the middle of one song, Makoto's line of vision stumbled upon a familiar sight. It was the girl from the other day- Koichi's niece. She was standing next to a tanned girl with brown hair, both in the middle of a conversation. Makoto returned his focus to the crowd in general as the song finished.   
  
Leon smirked into the microphone. "Yo, we're gonna take a quick ten-minute break, okay?" He told the audience. "Don't you go anywhere!" He then gestured Makoto to follow him, which the latter complied to, curious as to what he wanted.   
  
"So, what are we doing?" Makoto asked as they walked.   
  
"Dude, I saw you checking out that chick with the purple hair," Leon replied, still grinning. "Man, why didn't you tell me you were trying to get back in the game? What part of "Bros don't hide secrets from Bros" eludes you?"   
  
""Eludes"? That's a pretty big- Wait, no!" Makoto insisted as a blush came to his face. "It's not like that! I wasn't checking her out, really!" Leon rolled his eyes playfully.   
  
"Yeah, and this is my natural hair color," he sarcastically said, gesturing to his hair. He slapped Makoto's shoulder. "Be not afraid, Mi Bromigo! You've got the Ultimate Wingman by your side! With his help, she'll be all over you in no time!"   
  
"Really, where is he?" Makoto snarked, getting a light punch in the arm for his troubles.   
  
"Man, fuck you!" Leon laughed, getting Makoto to do the same. 

* * *

The party wasn't bad, Kyoko had to admit. The music- done by a local band, she heard from Hina- was decent, the food was good and everyone seemed to be having a fun time.   
  
"So, what do you think?" Hina said, a teasing smile coming across her face. "Fun or what?"   
  
"It's fine," Kyoko replied. Hina's grin then turned into a genuine smile.   
  
"I told you it'd be good," she said. Hina's focus then turned to a pair of boys coming their way, much to Kyoko's chargin. The opposite sex was the furthest thing from her mind at this moment and she would rather keep it that way.   
  
"They seem nice," Hina suggested, bumping her elbow against Kyoko's arm. The lavender-haired girl frowned.   
  
"Come on, at least say hi," Hina insisted, pulling Kyoko forward while the latter struggled comically.   
  
"Dude, stop being such a Taka and go for it!" One of the boys said to the other before pushing his friend forward. Kyoko came face-to-face with him and was shocked to see that it was the boy from the other day- the one who worked for Koichi.   
  
"Hey there!" Greeted his friend, a red-haired man with more piercings than what should have been considered acceptable. "My buddy and I were just hanging around when we saw you fine ladies. Mind if we chat a bit?"   
  
"Not at all!" Hina replied as she and the redhead walked off together, leaving Kyoko and the other man alone.   
  
An awkward silence followed for a few seconds, with both Kyoko and her psuedo-stalker silently darting their eyes away from each other. The quiet became too much for her and Kyoko spoke up to him.   
  
"I remember you," she said neutrally. "You're Koichi's employee, the one who was leering at me the other day."

* * *

"You're Koichi's employee, the one who was leering at me the other day." 

Makoto's eyes widened and a pit began to form inside of him. She recognized him? And apparently she thinks he's some kind of pervert. " _Great going, Naegi!_ " he scolded himself. Makoto internally breathed as he tried to figure out a way to diffuse this problem.   
  
"Um, sorry about that," he stammered. "I- I didn't mean too, honest!" He scolded hinself again at his flustered reaction while continuing to talk to her. "Wh- what I mean is, well, I'd never seen you before and well, I got curious, I guess. But I swear, I never meant to look like a creep or anything, so I apologize if I came off that way!" Makoto bowed his head and folded his hands together in an effort to look as sincere as he sounded.   
  
"It's fine," she replied nonchalantly, as if there wasn't a problem in the first place. "But if you really want to make it up to me, start by telling me your name."   
  
Makoto offered a shy smile and rubbed the back of his head. "It's Naegi," he told her. "Makoto Naegi." 

* * *

" _Makoto Naegi_ ," Kyoko thought, testing the name inside her head. "I suppose I should give my name as well. I'm Kyoko Kirigiri."   
  
Naegi's smile became slightly more relaxed. "That's a nice name," he said. The combination of his words and his surprisingly captivating smile made her feel more at ease. Kyoko internally tried to shake away from these thoughts. " _No_ ," she bluntly told herself. " _Don't even think about it._ "   
  
"So, um, how come I've never seen you around?" He asked. "I've been working for Koichi for a while now and this is the second time I've ever seen you."   
  
"I moved here a few months ago," she replied, hoping he wouldn't dig too much into it. "I'm still trying to adjust."   
  
"Oh, I see," Naegi nodded. "So, where were you before you came to Morioh?" Damn. She had to think of something.   
  
"Around," she said after finding a good enough excuse. "I've moved quite a lot. After a while, everywhere starts to blend together."   
  
His curiosity wasn't exactly satisfied, but Kyoko could tell that he understood her disinterest in talking about her past. "Oh well, I hope you stay- I mean, uh, I want to get to know you more- No wait!"   
  
Kyoko smirked, amused with Naegi's flustered reactions. "I don't plan on leaving any time soon, if that's what you're wondering."   
  
"Oh, that's... good." Naegi smiled softly, his hazel eyes meeting her purples. His eyes then widened and then darted away from hers. Another awkward silence followed. Just as she was about to say something however, Kyoko was interrupted.   
  
"Yo, Naegi, come on!" Called the voice of Naegi's friend, who had returned with Hina. "We gotta get back to the stage. Ibuki and Taka are probably going nuts looking for us."   
  
"Stage?" Kyoko asked, trying to hide her annoyance at the interruption.   
  
"Yeah, those two are part of the band," Hina said, her blue eyes twinkling over something.   
  
"Oh, really? Well, don't let me keep you," Kyoko said, turning away from Naegi.   
  
"Oh..." He muttered, sounding somewhat dejected of all things. "Well, um, it was nice meeting you, Kirigiri," he said shyly before departing along with his friend, who gave the two young women a wink and a thumbs-up. 

 

"You too," she quietly replied, even though he already left. Kyoko looked up to see Hina grinning at her like an idiot. 

"He's cute," she began. 

"Shut up."

 

* * *

 

The rest of the party went by uneventfully. At around midnight, people started to leave and the Crusaders started to pack up their things into the Crapmobile when Ruruka, Seiko and Sonosuke came up to them. 

"Hey, guys!" Ibuki greeted with a wave, which Seiko returned. 

"Hey," Sonosuke nodded. "So, look, um, thanks for filling in. You guys were pretty cool out there." 

"Hey, it's no big deal," replied Makoto with a smile. 

"Yeah, well on that note," Ruruka said, getting out her wallet. "Here's the pay. Hundred-fifty bucks, as agreed upon." She handed Leon a small stack of bills. His eyes narrowed when he looked at them. 

"This is all in ones," he flatly pointed out. 

"Hey, it's 150 dollars exactly," Ruruka said with a grin. "You can count it if you want." 

Leon looked ready to scream but was restrained by a hand from Taka. "Thank you for the pay, Ando. It was a pleasure playing for you. We have to go now, however. Oh, and happy birthday, Izayoi." Taka dragged Leon away while Ruruka left with Sonosuke and Seiko, the latter giving them a sympathetic look. 

On the ride to Makoto's, where the group decided to stay for the night, Ibuki sighed. "I should have known she'd try something like that," she said, playing with an amp. "Looks like you were right, Leon." 

"Hey, it wasn't all that bad," Makoto argued. "I mean, we had fun, didn't we?" 

"You certainly did, bro," Leon snickered. 

"Oh yeah!" Ibuki perked up. "You were with Koichi's girl, um, what's her name again?" 

"Kirigiri," Makoto answered. "And we just talked, that's all. It's not what you're thinking." 

"Sure, man, whatever you say," Leon teased, getting a middle finger for his troubles and in return, Makoto got a scolding from Taka, which caused Ibuki to laugh. Soon, all four of them were laughing like there was no tomorrow as they arrived at Makoto's complex. 

Makoto was the last of the group to get out of the van when suddenly he felt a weird sensation coursing through him. His eyes started feeling heavy and soon his whole body dropped to the floor. His final moments of consciousness were hearing his friends' cries of shock and an arrow of all things right in front of him. 

 

* * *

  
" _Hmm... perfect shot,_ " the concealed person said to themselves. Just like the others, the boy had fallen asleep after being hit by their arrow. And just like the others, he would either die or wake up a whole new person. Both had a certain appeal, the shooter mused as they saw his friends take him inside the building. The figure silently walked towards the arrow and picked it up. They briefly studied their weapon before putiit away and then exiting the area. 

" _Something tells me that things will be getting quite less boring around here_ ," they thought as they walked away. " _Puhu... Puhuhuhuhuhuhuhu..._ " 


	2. Bullet for My Valentine- Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't necessarily forgot this thing, moreso a lot of stuff came up. Enjoy the new chapter!

Darkness, that was all he could see. Makoto rubbed his eyes to help adjust, but it did little. "Hello?" he called out, leaving a lonely echo throughout the shadows. He tried again, with the same result.

" _Damnit_ ," he cursed internally. " _Where am I? And just how did I get here_?"

 _"Makoto..."_ growled a voice, getting the youth's attention.

"Huh? Who said that?" he asked aloud. When no response came, Makoto grew angry. "Alright, I don't know what's going on, but this is getting annoying," he said. "Who are you and what am I doing here? And did you have anything to do with that arrow I saw on the ground?!" A brief silence overtook the area before a man shrouded in the shadows appeared before Makoto.

The youth couldn't see much of his new companion given the current lighting aside a pair silvery artificial limbs on his lower arms. "Who- what are you?" Makoto stammered, fear starting to overtake him.

Afree a brief pause, the shadowy man replied. _"I am Thou. Thou art I."_

"What?!" cried the brunet. The other man merely turned around and began to walk away from him.

 _"We will see each other once again, when the time comes,"_ he said evenly, giving Makoto a tip of his fedora.

"I don't understand!" Makoto cried. "What are you talking about!?" Makoto was taken aback when his vision became cloudy.

 _"Farewell..."_ the man in the shadows said as Makoto began to lose consciousness.

* * *

 

A light came into focus as Makoto opened his eyes again.

"Makoto..." said a familiar voice.

Just what was that whole thing he witnessed about, he wondered to himself. And that mystery arrow that knocked him unconscious... could it have had a hand in this?

"Hey man, you up yet?" said the voice again.

The whole night was a blur. The concert for Izayoi, getting trolled by Ando, all that birthday cake, that talk with Kirigiri... Kirigiri...

"Hey dude, I'm gonna ask out your sister. That cool with you?" asked a new, more than familiar voice.

"Try it and die, Kuwata," Makoto glared, slowly getting up from his bed. In front of him were Hiro and a grinning Leon.

"Told you that would get him," Leon snickered.

"Eh, you know what they say about broken clocks," Hiro muttered.

 _"And I know what they say about pots and kettles,"_ Makoto thought. "So, how'd I get here?" he asked the two.

"Well, we rolled up to your apartment for the night when you got knocked the fuck out," Leon explained, taking a bite of his sandwich.

"Then, the three amigos over here came storming in, carrying your body, yelling at me to come help," Hiro piped in, causing Leon to become indignant.

"I was not yelling," he insisted. Hiro laughed in Leon's face.

"Dude, you were the worst about it!" he said in-between laughs. "Started yelling at me when your breath stopped and screaming that you better not die. Actually had to step out of the room when Taka suggested calling an ambulance."

"Leon..." gasped Makoto. The young man in question clicked his tongue and looked at the floor.

"Then all of a sudden, well... I'm not really sure how to explain it," Hiro sighed, scratching his head.

"How so?" Makoto asked.

"You started... talking to yourself," Leon said. "Kept asking where you were and who we were. Then, you fell asleep again."

"After that, your pulse seemed normal and you were breathing normally," Hiro added. "We took shifts to keep an eye on you, make sure you were okay. Few hours later, Ibuki and Taka left. We had some breakfast, then came to see if you were up."

"I see," mused Makoto, flicking away a stray stand of hair. He then had a realization. "Aw, shit!" he cursed. "You said Ibuki already left!? Fuck! I'm late for work!"

"Chill out, bro," Leon said casually, grabbing his friend's shoulder. "She called Kizakura before she left, said you couldn't make it today. He was cool with it."

"That's the kind of thing you mention beforehand, y'know," Makoto sighed, sinking back into bed.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Leon waved away. "So, you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, I think so." Makoto had meant to ask about the arrow from last night, but never got around to it. He decided that he could wait until Leon and the others were calmed down from what happened.

* * *

 

The afternoon sun was beating down on Makoto as he walked down Nijimura Avenue. Leon had left for class a few hours ago and Hiro was with a client. Bored, Makoto decided to pay a visit to M78. He made a left turn and crossed the street, entering the shops.

"I don't believe it," said a surprised Koichi. "I give you the day off, and you still come in. Why don't you ever show this kind of work ethic normally?"

 _"I'll come back to you on that when we get more than like, eight costumers a week,"_ Makoto internally snarked before he was tackled into a hug by Ibuki.

"OhmyGodthankgoodnessyoureokay!" Ibuki exclaimed at approximately one mile per minute. "WewereallsoworriedevenLeonthoughhellprobablydenyitcausehewantstoplayToughGuyand-"

"Ibuki...," Makoto weakly breathed, "can't breathe..." The energetic girl blushed in embarrassment while their boss chuckled. "But seriously, thanks for keeping an eye on me," Makoto smiled as Ibuki let him go.

"Eh, don't sweat it," Ibuki replied with a smug grin. "There's not a thing Ibuki can't do, even keep her friends from dying horribly!"

"Hey, uh, is anyone here?" asked a voice. The duo turned around and Ibuki jumped behind the counter. The voice belonged to a young man around their age with brown hair and green eyes. This was Hajime Hinata, an old classmate of theirs and a somewhat regular customer.

"O-oh uh, hi, Hajime!" Ibuki nervously greeted. Makoto was confused. He'd known Ibuki since high school, and she was never this nervous around anyone, including Hinata.

"Hey, Mioda," Hinata returned the greeting, just as shy. This was more understandable. Hinata had had a crush on her for a while now. As the two talked (more like awkwardly mutter to each other with the occasionally looking away from each other), Makoto turned to his boss.

"Tell me you aren't this oblivious," Koichi sighed to Makoto's confusion. "Never mind," he said, taking a swig of his whiskey.

"Alright, I've done my share of trolling around for the day," Makoto said, about to leave. "I know when I'm not wanted."

"And yet you keep coming back," Koichi joked, making his employee laugh.

"Gotta pay the bills somehow," Makoto joked back. "See you later, Ibuki, Hinata!"

"Later, Naegi!"

"I'll call you when I get home tonight!" Makoto waved goodbye and turned to leave the shop when he came face-to-face with a familiar person.

"Oh, hey Kyoko!" Koichi casually greeted.

* * *

 

Kyoko certainly didn't expect this when she woke up this morning. The day had gone by normally. She handed in some assignments, had a quick lunch with Hina and came home to find Koichi's lunch on the kitchen counter... again. She swore he did this on purpose.

An ethereal arm stretched out and grabbed the bag, giving it to Kyoko, who dropped her bag on the floor, and the hand reached out to grab it as well, but Kyoko shook her head. "It'll be there when we get back," she reasoned. "Let's go." And here she was, at her "uncle's" crappy music shop, face-to-face with the boy she had been running into time and again this past week. This was starting to get bizarre.

"Oh, hey Kyoko!" Koichi greeted her.

"K-Kirigiri!" Naegi nearly jumped, just as surprised as she was for them to run into each other. "Um, hey," he said, in what he seemed to think was a casual tone. "How are you doing?"

"Well enough," she responded. Kyoko turned to Koichi, almost throwing his lunch in his face. "Next time I'm just going to staple it to your hand."

"Would you really do that to your poor old uncle?" Koichi asked, mockingly hurt.

 _"Well, I'm tempted to from time to time,"_ Kyoko mused internally. Her pocket buzzed, making her pull out her phone. Hina was texting if she wanted to meet at the park to study. Seeing as she had nothing better to do, Kyoko agreed. "I'm going to the park," she told Koichi.

"I don't know why you told me that like you were a high schooler with a curfew, but okay," Koichi drawled.

Kyoko rolled her eyes. "It's so you don't send a SWAT team to look for me if I'm not home before you."

"Heh, heh, whatever you say." As she turned to leave, she saw Naegi walk near her.

"Did you need something?" she asked, maybe a little too bluntly. Not that she particularly cared, she just didn't want to sound rude to a stranger.

"Oh w-well, I was just about to h-head to the park myself," he stuttered out.

"He wants to go to the park with you!" his friend blurted out, pushing Naegi towards her.

"I-Ibuki!" Naegi cried out, glaring at his friend. The boy standing next to her merely sighed, as though as something like this was a common occurrence.

Kyoko was about to say "no". No offense to Naegi, but she wasn't exactly sure about walking alongside someone she barely knew. Especially not with a male, again no offense meant. But when she was about to open her mouth, she looked into his wide hazel eyes and a feeling of pity came over her. And it's not like something bad could come from just walking with him. A dark chuckle echied through her head, reminding her that she just tempted fate yet again.

"Um, Kirigiri?" Naegi hesitantly said, grabbing her attention back to reality. "If you don't want to, it's alright. I can just-"

"It's fine. Let's go."

* * *

 

An awkward silence followed them as they walked side-by-side. Neither she or Naegi knew what to do. Eventually, Naegi decided to be the one to break the silence. "So, um, tell me about yourself," he suggested. "I mean, well, we didn't get to talk much during the party. I mean, you don't have to talk if you don't want to..."

As amusing as she found his awkwardness, Kyoko could only put up with so much of it before it got irritating. "You know I'm not gonna bite your head off, right?" she reminded him. "Contrary to how I may appear, I'm as human as you."

"Oh, sorry," Naegi blushed. Kyoko briefly thought about how cute it was before dismissing it. 

"As for myself," she continued, "My name is Kyoko Kirigiri, in case you somehow forgot it last night. I'm twenty-one years old, attending Morioh Community College. I've moved around a lot, but most of the time not because I want to. I've been in Morioh since February, and I hope to stay around for a little while."

"MCC?" he asked. "My friend Leon goes there. Do you have a major?"

"Criminology," she plainly answered. "I am to be a detective."

"Detective?" he said, his hands currently behind his head as he walked. "I can see it. You definitely look like one."

"Oh? How so?" His face flushed. "I'm not sure how to put it, you just... give of that kind of feeling, you know?"

"Thanks," she said, giving a small smile.

* * *

 

"Thanks."

That one word and the tiny, but noticable smile on top of it were enough to make his heart stop. It was crazy, really. He had only just met this woman (you can't really call someone older than you a girl), but there was something about her that just intoxicated him. It sounded so dumb, like something out of those crappy shojo mangas Komaru liked, but Makoto couldn't find another way to put it.

"So, what about you?" she asked, snapping him back to reality.

"Not much to tell," he admitted. "I'm nineteen, I work for Koichi, and I'm in a band."

"I have to admit, I didn't take you for the musician type," she said, pushing a stray lavender strand away.

"Yeah, I get that a lot," Makoto grinned nervously. "To be honest, the Crusaders is more of Leon's thing than mine. You see-"

"Hold on," she interrupted as they reached the park's entrance. "Is Leon the guy with red hair and more piercings than should be considered legal?"

"Yeah, why?" Makoto asked while mentally filing away that remark about Leon's piercings for later use.

"Because I see him just down there, and with a pair of girls," she said pointing to his friend, who was currently in an argument with-

 _"Ando... and Kimura, too!? Goddammit, Leon!"_ Makoto shouted internally as he ran towards his best friend.

"Naegi, wait!" Kirigiri said as she ran after him.

"Are you finished yapping, Kuwata?" sneered Ruruka Ando, checking her nails. Leon clenched his fist.

"All I want is an apology, Ando," he insisted. "An apology for that little stunt you pulled last night!"

"Oh come on, I paid you, didn't I!?" she replied, clearly annoyed with all of this.

"Um, R-Ruruka-" Kimura started before getting cut off.

"Chill, Seiko," she told her friend. "I've got this under control."

"Oh yeah, I forgot," Leon jeered. "She's not allowed to speak without Master's permission."

"Hey!" yelled an indignant Ando. "She can speak up whenever she wants! Seiko shouldn't have to waste her breath on some petty chode is all."

"Hey, who the Hell are you calling a "chode", Pinky!?" yelled the singer.

"Leon!" Makoto called out as he and Kirigiri finally reached him.

"Oh great, the dynamic duo are reunited," Ando drawled. "Just a little FYI, Naegi: He came to harass us. We've got no beef with you guys."

"Dude, what the Hell?" Makoto frowned at his friend, who snarled.

"Makoto, you don't get it," he explained as he shook his head. "That little prank she pulled... when she did that, she made a mockery of us... She injured our pride!"

"I think all that Red Bull is starting to affect your brain," Makoto told him. "Because I don't remember being dragged into this! And I think I can vouch for Ibuki and Taka, too."

"And no offense," Kirigiri added, "but you're a small-time garage band. You don't have a shred of pride to lose."

"Ah the classic "No Offense, But Actually All of the Offence" routine," Ando snarked. "Picked a real winner here, Naegi. And after your last girlfriend, I was sure you couldn't sink any lower."

Naegi was taken aback by Ando's words, Kirigiri looked more annoyed at the pinkette's attitude than anything else, Kimura looked shocked and Leon was downright furious now.

"R-Ruruka!"

"Oh, you're fuckin' dead now, Ando!"

"Tch, come at me if ya can, Red!" Leon rushed towards the girl, who stretched out her hand as if to say "bring it". Before he could get very far, Leon was stopped by something that made Makoto- and surprisingly, Kimura- go wide-eyed with surprise.

The "something" in question was some kind of humanoid, more of a ghost now that Makoto realized. It reminded him of a yuki-onna with its feminine figure, flowing hair and white robe that went down to its feet. Its face was one of permanent stoicness with piercing red eyes and a tight frown adorning its lips. A slender hand was currently holding Leon's shoulder with a surprisingly strong grip while the other beckoned Kirigiri as it awaited an order.

 _"What do you wish me to do now, milady?"_ it asked in a soft, almost robotic tone.

* * *

"Stay still, and don't let go of him until I say so," Kyoko commanded her ghostly companion before letting out a grunt of irritation. She didn't want to bring out Nirvana, but she knew she had no chance of being able to stop Kuwata on her own, especially with Naegi still reeling from that insult from earlier (even though technically Kyoko was the one who was mocked). 

The part that confused her the most was that Naegi was looking directly at Nirvana. That shouldn't be happening unless... It dawned on her quickly. 

"Naegi," she called out to him, grabbing his attention. "I think you should take your friend and leave." 

"Wait, what the fuck's going on here?" Kuwata asked, struggling against Nirvana's grasp. Kyoko internally grinned. Despite her delicate appearance, Nirvana was surprisingly strong. He could struggle all he wanted, but it was useless. 

"What's the matter, Kuwata?" the pink-haired girl- Ando, she believed her name was- teased. "Chickening out? Is it because I'm a girl?" 

"Fuck that!" Kuwata yelled as he continued trying to wriggle out of Nirvana's grasp. "I don't care if you're Jesus after a sex change, I'm kicking your ass!" 

"Ruruka, you have to stop this!" pleaded the girl with a surgical mask over her mouth- whom Kyoko deducted to be Kimura. Kyoko remembered that she too could see Nirvana and grimaced. "Just let it go already!" 

"For the last time, Seiko, I-"

"No!" Kimura shouted as an odd aura begun to circle around her. "I'm sick of this, Ruruka! Sick of all this stupid fighting with Kuwata and his friends! You're always picking on them for no reason, even though we aren't in high school anymore! And every time I try and talk to you about it, you just shut me up! I'm your best friend, Ruruka... shouldn't what I say matter to you!?"

As Kimura shouted at Ando, the latter began to back away from her friend, fear slowly making itself apparent across her face. "S-Seiko... you're scaring me..." she said, her voice starting to tremble. 

"SHUT UP!!!" yelled Kimura as the aura around her grew and pushed everyone around her away with a great force. 

Ando screamed as she landed against a tree, knocking her out instantly. Due to the force, Nirvana's grasp slipped and Kuwata dropped to the ground. 

"Nirvana, create a barrier around us!" Kyoko ordered as she and Naegi struggled to stay in place, slowly being pushed back. _"At once, milady!"_ nodded the yuki-onna before stretching out her arms. In a matter of seconds, a dome of ice surrounded her, Naegi and the now-unconsious Kuwata. 

* * *

 

Kirigiri took a deep breath as she tried to regain her focus. Makoto was confused as to what just happened. One moment Leon and Ando were about to attack each other, and then Kimura goes nuts and a gust of wind attacks everyone. Then, Kirigiri tells her ghost/servant/thing to make a barrier and suddenly a dome of ice surrounded them. 

Only one thought went through Makoto Naegi's mind as he saw the exausted Kirigiri try and keep her footing: _"What the fuck is going on!?"_ And then as if things couldn't get any weirder... he heard him. 

_"Makoto... I am thou... Thou art I..."_

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stand Card #1:  
> Name- Nirvana, User- Kyoko Kirigiri  
> Ability: Can manifest ice from anywhere Kyoko wants within a range of 15 meters/~45 feet.  
> Destructive Power- C  
> Speed- B  
> Range- A  
> Durability- C  
> Precision- B  
> Development Potential- B
> 
> So yeah, that's where we leave off for now. Hopefully, it won't take too long to get another chapter out. 
> 
> Until then, ja ne~! Have a beautiful day!  
> \- Brian


	3. Bullet for My Valentine- Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know, this is really late, but it's been a Hell of a time for me. Besides better late than, ah you know the rest.

Makoto could only stand in shock. The phantom from his dream was now right in front of him, as if today couldn't get any weirder. 

" _Stop gawking_ ," it demanded. " _Summon me, so that you can escape this situation._ " 

"Naegi!" Kirigiri called to him. Makoto remembered that he wasn't alone and turned to face her. "Listen to what it's saying. Concentrate and summon it!"

Makoto honestly had no idea what was going on, but seeing as he had little options, he did as commanded. Makoto took a deep breath and closed his eyes, telling himself over and over to summon the phantom. 

" _I am Thou. Thou art I_ ," he repeated to himself as if by instinct. 

* * *

Kyoko was seriously questioning her luck at this moment. What were the odds that their would be a Stand User here in a small portion town in the middle of nowhere, let alone two? She'd have to inquire about Naegi's Stand later, though. After they finished this business. 

_Slam!_ A fist attacked the dome, leaving a small crack. 

"Kimura!" Naegi cried, breaking his concentration. Of all the... "What are you doing!?" 

"Naegi, focus!" Kyoko reminded him. Silently, she was just as worried. In her current state, Kimura was very dangerous. Her knowledge of Stands was admittedly rather limited, but she remembered how difficult it was at first to control Nirvana. 

* * *

Seiko honestly had no idea what she was doing. Honestly, she was still trying to figure out how this all spiraled out of control so fast. Ugh, every since she was hospitalized a few weeks ago, she'd been feeling all... weird. It felt as if there was something inside her just begging to be let out. And now that she had, it felt... it felt...  _good_. 

"Come on, guys, there's no need to hide!" Seiko insisted before her... whatever she should call it punched that purple girl's ice dome again. 

Seiko Kimura didn't know what exactly was going on, but she was going to find out and have a good time doing it! 

* * *

Makoto was trying his best to conjure his spirit, but every time he can close, another one of Kimura's attacks would break his concentration. " _Dammit_!" he thought to himself. " _Why do I have to be so useless_?" Makoto shook his head, snapping out of his funk. He looked next to him and saw Leon's unconscious body. It may have been his fault in the first place, but Leon was his best friend and best friends always stuck up for each other, regardless of the circumstances. 

Suddenly, he thought back for a brief moment to something Leon once said, around the same time he and Leon first formed the Crusaders. " _Makoto, no matter what, a Stardust_ _Crusader never leaves his men behind! That's our Crusader's Creed!_ " Makoto dismissed it as typical Leon dribble, but seeing him in this state made Makoto think twice. 

He then looked over at Kirigiri and saw how hard she was trying to keep the dome up. Despite barely knowing him and Leon, she was still going out of her way to help them both. The least he could do would be to return the favor!

_"Leon, Kirigiri... I promise... I'm gonna get you out of this!"_ With a renewed vigor, Makoto took a deep breath and concentrated as hard as he could. Makoto let out a yell that sounded almost primal as a black aura surrounded him. 

"I am Thou, Thou art I," he chanted. " _I release you, my spirit_!" 

From behind Makoto, a humaniod being that was colored a dark shade of black almost completely save a pair of silver metallic gauntles on either forearm. 

"I... I did it..." he said to himself. 

"Good," Kirigiri piped up, making Makoto turn to her. "Now, I can't hold this dome any more, so get ready to fight." 

_"F-fight!?"_ Makoto paled. He was so screwed. 

* * *

With a sigh, Kyoko dismissed the barrier and the two cane face-to-fave with Kimura, along with her Stand. 

The Stand itself looked sleek and small compared to even Kyoko's own. Like it's owner, it had a mask over it's face and it's eyes looked positively insane. Kyoko wondered how something so small could have so much brute strength. 

"Nirvana!" Kyoko summoned her Stand, which launched a stream of ice at Kimura. Kimura's Stand flicked it away without any problem. Even more shocking was that as the ice was falling, it started to corrode and melt away. That wasn't supposed to happen. 

"D-did that just...?" Naegi was as surprised as Kyoko. This had to have been the reason why her ice dome was shattering so quickly. Not by brute Force, but through Kimura's unique power. The question was, how does one counter it?

"My turn!" Kimura said suddenly. Her Stand lunged at them, the two barely dodging. 

"Naegi, use your Stand!" Kyoko told him. 

"My what?" he asked. Seriously, how oblivious could someone be? "Do it!" 

* * *

 

Hesitantly, Makoto did as instructed. " _Um, Stand_?" he asked internally. " _Could you please help?"_ The fingers on his Stand's gauntlets retracted slightly and opened up. Before Makoto could process what was going on, the Stand fired a barrage of bullets from the gauntlets. 

"Holy shit, duck!" Makoto cried aloud. Kirigiri and Kimura both did so, barely managing to escape. 

"What was that, Naegi?" Kimura taunted. "Were you trying to make me dance a little?" 

" _Great shooting there, Tex!"_ Makoto internally scolded. He saw Kirigiri fire another stream of ice at Kimura, who used her Stand to corrode it. Makoto took advantage of this to try firing at her again, only for Kimura to turn and corrode his bullets. 

"Damn, she's fast," Makoto mumbled under his breath. He was forced to retreat a bit as Kimura's Stand started attacking him. 

"That's right, keep backing away!" Kimura said as she continued lunging. "Typical Naegi, always backing off when things tough! Be a man and fight!"

"Naegi!" Kirigiri cried as she summoned a large chunk of ice before shattering it into many shards and unleashing them at Kimura. Kimura turned and started corroding the shards, seemingly forgetting about Makoto. 

" _Now I understand!"_ Makoto thought. " _For as powerful as that Stand's ability is, it's reach is very short-range and can only corrode our projectiles one at a time. Kirigiri must've noticed this and... Now's my chance!_ " 

Makoto took aim and started firing bullets at Kimura. She turned around to face him, only to get pierced by the shards of ice. Since her guard was down, her Stand was shot up with Makoto's bullets. 

" _Dakakakakakakakakakakaka_!" cried out his Stand as its shots hit dead on. 

"Ahh!" Kimura screamed in pure pain. Makoto's eyes widened. She may have been trying to hurt him, but he couldn't help but feel a little sorry for her. 

"K-kimura, a-are you- Oh no!" Before his very eyes, Seiko Kimura fell down to the ground, bleeding badly. 

"She'll be fine," Kirigiri said as she dusted herself off, retreating her Stand. "Neither of us used enough power to hurt her, I can tell." 

"How do you-?"

"Now's not the time," she calmly retorted. "We have to call an ambulance." 

"Yeah, you should," said a voice from behind.

* * *

 

The two turned to see another Stand, this one looking slim and unassuming with the exception of it's piercing red eyes. 

"My name is unimportant, but you may address me as Psycho Killer," the Stand known as Psycho Killer said. Kyoko couldn't believe her eyes. She had never even heard of a Stand that could be used as some kind of communication from its user. Sure, Nirvana could occasionally speak to her, but this was completely different. "And it appears that my tests proved successful." 

"Tests?" Naegi cried. "What are you talking about!?" Kyoko too was rather curious. 

"Ah, that's right, you wouldn't remember," Psycho Killer nodded. "That Stand of yours that you just brought out? I was the one who gave it to you! And that weirdo mask girl over there." 

Kyoko's eyes widened, her normally atoic and calm demenor shattered. Something that could create Stands... Could this person be associated with... Him? 

"But it looks like my little experiment worked a little too well," the Stand shrugged. "Who knew a shrimp like you would get such a powerful Stand?" Psycho Killer turned to Kyoko. "And yours ain't half bad, either, even if I had nothing to do with it, maybe." 

"So, all those hospitalized people...?" Naegi asked, his hand clenching into a fist.

"All me, handsome!" Psycho Killer laughed.

Kyoko could hardly contain her disgust. "Do you have an idea of what you've done?" she asked. "All those lives you've endangered... How did you even get this ability anyway?" 

"Well, if you must know..." Suddenly from out of nowhere, an arrow shot out from.a tree and struck one of the bodies. 

"LEON!" Naegi cried. Kyoko herself was thankful Kuwata ws already unconscious. 

Naegi fired some bullets from his Stand, but to both his and Kyoko's surprise, Psycho Killer dodged every single one and struck Naegi down.  

"Don't worry," the Stand mockingly consoled as it pulled the arrow from Kuwata's shoulder, "if you can survive the arrow's test, then he definitely can. And if not, well there's plenty more Stand Users in Morioh that can fill his niche." 

Naegi screamed and shot at the Stand again with the same results. 

"Hey, I think I heard something from over hear!" shouted a familiar voice to Kyoko. " _Hina..."_

"Well I'd love to stay and chat, but I've got better things to do, so if you'll excuse me..." The area was briefly lit up very brightly, blinding Kyoko. By the time her vision returned to normal, Psycho Killer and its user were already gone. 

"Kyoko!" Hina cried as she rushed over to her. "What's going on here? Why's everybody all messed up? And what was with those noises I was hearing...?"

Hina's voice was drifting further away, and Kyoko realized then that she had used so much energy, she was feeling faint. Her last thought were of her angr at what had just transpired and a small hint of sadness for Naegi, though she couldn't articulate why...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stand Card #2:  
> Name: Down With the Sickness  
> User: Seiko Kimura  
> Ability: Can corrode anything it's hands touch into nothing.   
> Destructive Power: A  
> Speed: B  
> Range: E  
> Durability: D  
> Precision: B  
> Development Potential: E
> 
> Sorry for another short one, but I swear these'll get longer. Hopefully...
> 
> Well, until next time, ja ne! Have a beautiful day~!  
> \- Brian

**Author's Note:**

> And that's Chapter 1! Not the most exciting thing perhaps, but hopefully it'll get better? 
> 
> Tell me what you liked, didn't like, what could be improved and all that jazz. Feedback is a writer's food after all. 
> 
> Ja ne, have a wonderful day!  
> \- Brian


End file.
